March 7th, 2009 | 
Author: Angie and I were discussing some of the top activities we’ve enjoyed when down in our little Dordogne home; and so here’s our top 10 (in no particular order):
1. St Emilion. This is a great town to visit.. famous and beautiful. Have lunch in the main plaza.
2. Canoeing down the Dordogne. We always go to Limeuil to rent the canoe (there’s a couple of companies there).. and you have a choice of river (Dordogne or Vézere) and you tell them how long you want – and they simply drop you further up the river. A great day out.
3. Touring the bastide towns. There are so many lovely bastide towns and we really enjoyed visiting them over one or two days.
4. Walking through vineyards around our house. We’ve “created” a few walks that start straight from the house ranging from 1 hour to 3 hours (take a picnic). Its nice to know that you don’t have to drive to experience France and all its beauty.
5. Horse riding through vineyards. OK – perhaps not for everyone, but we really enjoy riding and there is a great riding centre (La Jumenterie) a mile or two away that offers 1 hour hacks through the vineyards.
6. Night markets. Most of the towns and villages have night markets (usually Thursday or Friday nights in the Summer). They can be very entertaining.
7. Eating out. There are a number of great local restaurants – amongst them, we recommend La Grappe D’Or (very informal, family-style), La Enfance du Lard (more up market, small “boutique” restaurant in Bergerac), and the Pizzeria in Eymet for great Italian (I know .. not french but still a treat).
8. Wine tasting. There are plenty of places like at the Chateau Monbazillac to do this properly.. but we only recently discovered some of the smallest vineyards offer wine tasting too. You may need to knock on the door to the wine grower’s home (don’t be shy) .. but you will get a far more personalised tasting and get a chance to understand the process of making wine far better than at the tourist places.
9. Toulouse. If you don’t mind a bit of a drive (about 2 1/2 hours).. then Toulouse can be a great little city break. It has fabulous red brick buildings, plenty of shops (including independent boutiques that have all but disappeared in British cities), and plenty of culture.
10. Doing absolutely nothing. Nothing is better at times.. to just sit by the pool and read a book, nap, and slowly cook yourself in the French sun.
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